0070 79 Which man is so promiscuous?
While the wedding was being held in the front hall, Ling Qingyun and a few friends were discussing who would fill Zhao Lao's position among the seven members of the Standing Committee of the 20th National Congress of the Communist Party of China after Lu Daiyuan took office.
"Ye Lifeng? He's practically drooling over that position!" The speaker shook his head, prompting Qingyun to laugh in agreement. Who could possibly elicit such agreement from him? This man was Wen Baiyu, the Emperor's chief steward, a veteran of two dynasties, whose experience and methods were extraordinary.
"Generally, people who can get the position of prime minister need at least five years of experience as vice prime minister. Looking around now, the most suitable person is Duan Zhaoxue. Why do they want to meddle in everything?"
Wen Bai said a few more words, but Qingyun didn't respond. He just smiled, picked up his teacup, and took a sip.
"By the way, isn't there something wrong with Yi Shuyuan from the central bank? I saw Ye Lifeng standing by and doing nothing before, but now he's pleading with the Emperor to recommend him to continue as the bank's president," Wen Bai sighed slightly, adjusting the ruby necklace at her collar. "I heard recently that you also pleaded for him?"
Ling Qingyun put down his teacup, straightened his expression, and said, "Yi Shuyuan is a master at managing the economy. Even though the economy was slowing down at the end of the year, he didn't open the floodgates and managed to keep the economy stable at around 6% growth. That's quite impressive. Besides, Ye Lifeng has been recommending him. If I were to step in and obstruct him, I'm afraid I'd be accused of wasting talent."
Wen Bai nodded knowingly, and after a couple of seconds, smiled thoughtfully, “The Sino-US trade war, coupled with the pandemic, has significantly slowed down the domestic economy. If he finds a way to do something, and does it well, you’ll still have a recommendation title. If he doesn’t do it well, you can remove him from his position, which will be perfectly legitimate.”
Ling Qingyun smiled and nodded.
The two exchanged pleasantries for a while longer. Wen Baiyu received a phone call and stood up. Her secretary helped her straighten her skirt. Ling Qingyun also stood up, with Ling Xingzhi following behind. The group walked out, and Wei Luochen outside the door wore a polite smile, though his face was somewhat pale.
Wen Baiyu walked to the door and hung up the phone. "Don't bother seeing me off. I can go by myself. See you at the meeting another day!"
After everyone left, Ling Qingyun's smile vanished, and he reverted to his usual stern demeanor. He turned and walked into another room. Ling Xingzhi also wanted to go in, but noticing that Wei Luochen's expression was off, he gradually stopped.
"What's wrong? How did Xingxi's wedding go?"
Wei Luochen looked up at Ling Xingzhi, opened his mouth to speak, and grabbed his arm, "I..."
Before he could finish speaking, Chen Ran's dry voice rang out, "Secretary, the minister is waiting for you inside..."
Ling Xingzhi nodded, patted Wei Luochen's arm, and turned to leave. Wei Luochen watched him close the door, then sat on the sofa, feeling utterly dejected. After a while, she screamed and begged Chen Ran to pour her a glass of wine.
There were many people in the room, including several ministers.
“Brother, how could you recommend that guy Yi Shuyuan? Not only is his son involved with Ye Lifeng’s people, but he also has close ties with Hua Chunyang and her group…”
Ling Qingyun smiled, looking completely at ease. "I spoke with the head steward. Yi Shuyuan has the ability. If he does well, I can gain a good reputation. If he doesn't do well, it's only natural to replace him."
The others laughed and said, "That's a good idea too."
Ling Xingzhi sat by the door, tea in hand, a faint smile on his lips. His father's greatest skill wasn't this move, but rather his approach to managing local debt and ensuring the survival and development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the process of overcoming difficulties and achieving common prosperity had been continuously promoted, the gap between rich and poor in China remained vast. Revitalizing SMEs was like adding oxygen to a fish tank; more oxygen meant the fish could survive and wouldn't need to move to a different tank.
However, how to revitalize and reorganize these practices are both problems.
Local government debt should be a problem for the Ministry of Finance. There has always been a conflict between the central bank and the Ministry of Finance. However, economic development requires money. The biggest economic habit of Chinese people is to save money. They don't have money to invest, so they save it. Bank interest rates are also high. Both of these factors have a certain hindering effect on investment in economic development.
If the central bank handles this issue this time, it will inevitably inject massive liquidity, leading to lower interest rates and increased investment, which will naturally alleviate some of the government's debt repayment pressure. By promoting the livelihoods of small and medium-sized enterprises and boosting the economies of indebted regions, the government can use the increased tax revenue to repay its debts. Essentially, it's a simple transfer of funds between the two parties.
The money comes from small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), is transferred to consumers through government debt, and then goes back to SMEs to make purchases, forming a positive closed loop.
The intended transmission mechanism is fine, but will the local authorities actually do it?
If the government collects tax revenue and then uses debt to expand its leverage, keeping some money for itself and using the rest to pay off debt, would that be feasible?
Of course, it's possible, but the overall market trend and the real estate issues are interconnected globally, which is something no one can predict.
so……
So, in the end, it all boils down to whether the central bank will engage in massive monetary easing. If it does, the Ministry of Finance will likely cooperate by releasing more money into the central bank. Money can't be printed arbitrarily; the amount printed is determined by a report. So, what will Yi Shuyuan do with this extra money? Will he keep it for himself, or leave it untouched?
If you leave it untouched, where are you going to put it?
Can you provide space?
No, Ling Qingyun wouldn't allow this amount of money to be enough to solve the debts of several local governments. It would only be enough to handle the debts of one local government. So, who would you choose to give it to?
Everyone's anxious. You can't convince anyone you give it to. More importantly, they can turn around and accuse you of colluding with S City and engaging in corruption.
Just give him any title, and that'll be enough to give Yi Shuyuan a hard time.
As everyone was having a pleasant conversation, Chen Ran suddenly knocked on the door and came in. Holding his phone, he walked up to Ling Xingzhi, covered his mouth with his hand, and said, "Secretary, it's a call from the Public Security Bureau."
Ling Xingzhi raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"
Chen Ran handed over his phone. Ling Xingzhi stood up, and the others ignored him, except for Ling Qingyun who gave him a smiling glance. Stepping out of the room, Ling Xingzhi answered the phone, "Hello, Director Zhao, how can I help you?"
After hearing something said over there, Ling Xingzhi frowned and turned to look at Wei Luochen.
Wei Luochen's hand holding the wine glass trembled, and the red liquid spilled out.
Winter nights are usually quiet. Yi Shuyuan's secretary drove the car downstairs. "President, there's an online economic forum at Tsinghua University tomorrow that you've been invited to attend. Please get some rest, as you may have to get up early."
Yi Shuyuan nodded, got out of the car, and appeared drunk.
Back home, he sat on the sofa; the living room was empty. Yi Shuyuan opened his coat, spread his arms, and leaned back on the sofa. A moment later, footsteps echoed from the stairs.
The table lamp next to the sofa turned on.
"Why are you only getting back now?" Yi Shuyuan's wife, Wang Yanming, came downstairs.
Yi Shuyuan sighed and looked at her, "I spent the whole afternoon playing with them."
Wang Yanming sat down opposite her on the sofa. She understood what "playing" meant. "How are you? How did the negotiations go?"
“My position shouldn’t change… but,” Yi Shuyuan said, rubbing his neck, “you need to be prepared to leave the country.”
Wang Yanming was startled. "What do you mean?"
Yi Shuyuan straightened up. "Ling Qingyun also recommended me to continue as president, and said that the Ministry of Finance strongly supports me. The two problems I am facing now, government debt and revitalizing the economy, are both structural problems that cannot be solved in a short time by my presence in office."
"What do you mean? Isn't the current strategy focused on the domestic circulation? We've been stimulating the domestic economy all along."
Yi Shuyuan raised his hand and touched his wife's shoulder. "The domestic circulation has two main problems. First, the Russia-Ukraine war, as well as the issues in China-US and China-EU relations, have led to a decrease in external demand. Second, the country wants to emulate the US. The US can drive its economy through consumption, and China, with its large population, could have done the same. However, Chinese people save more money than they consume, and changing this mindset cannot be accomplished in five or ten years. ... These are structural problems that cannot be solved simply by the country encouraging more live-streaming e-commerce platforms or supporting companies like Pinduoduo."
"You mean, whether you do a good job or not, you can't hold this position? And you'll even be used as a pawn?"
Yi Shuyuan nodded and released his grip. "That's what I mean." He paused, "If I hadn't gone down, I could have bought you some more time. All domestic assets need to be liquidated, and savings should be placed abroad as much as possible. You and Chenling choose one country; you two go first..."
Won't they protect you?
Yi Shuyuan shook his head, recalling what Hua Chunyang had said during the meeting today: "His mistake was too big, keeping him around is also a problem for us."
If they treat the veteran members this way, what about him, the "newcomer"?
The two figures were projected onto the ground.
In the shadows, Yi Chenling slowly lowered the hand that was holding the water.
After a while, once Yi Shuyuan and his wife had gone upstairs, Yi Chenling finally came out of the dining room. Watching his parents' backs as they walked away, and remembering his father's words, his chest heaved. A few minutes later, he turned and grabbed a car key from the locker, opened the door, and went out.
A moment later, the roar of a sports car could be heard outside.
The lights flickered into the car, sometimes bright, sometimes dim, and a light, alluring masculine scent wafted by.
Zhou Xiye turned his head to look at Pei Zhiyu; the aroma wafted through the air, impossible to escape. A slight smile played on his lips. "How was the meal today?"
"It's delicious."
Zhou Xiye turned to look out the window, remained silent for a few seconds, and then looked at Pei Zhiyu again.
“I know what you’re thinking: marriage, alliance… You’re a good choice for me, but I’m not a good choice for you…” Zhou Xiye explained, touching his pants with his fingers. “Minister Ye has introduced me to quite a few people; I’ll choose from among them…”
The car swayed, and Zhou Xiye's body tilted slightly.
"I'm sorry," Pei Zhiyu said, her gaze fixed straight ahead, her expression calm, though the smile on her lips had vanished.
“Zhou Xiye, you don’t need to belittle yourself. Whether in terms of ability or character, you are worthy of me and the Pei family.”
Zhou Xiye gritted her teeth; that wasn't what she meant. In her eyes, Pei Zhiyu was nothing more than a younger, arrogant version of "Ling Xingzhi." However, when she first arrived in Beijing, almost all the classmates she met were pampered and wealthy nobles, and she was initially 'intimidated' by Pei Zhiyu's imposing presence and aura.
Even after meeting Ling Xingzhi, Zhou Xiye still viewed Pei Zhiyu through a terrible "filter" of her teenage years.
They all rose to their positions through family connections. Do they have the ability? Of course they do; leading Haidian District to become the second-largest district in the country in terms of GDP certainly demonstrates their capability. But, does having that kind of ability guarantee someone will reach the position of district head at that age?
It's impossible, even to a fool.
Zhou Xiye tolerated his arrogance, her tone very calm, "Ability and character should not be the criteria for evaluating a politician." She smiled, "District Chief Pei, cooperation should be based on willingness."
The car stopped abruptly. The car was in good working order and there was no sound of brakes, but Zhou Xiye's body involuntarily leaned forward.
Pei Zhiyu turned to look at him, his usual arrogance and nonchalance turning clear and bright. "If it's about cooperation, then you should think about me even more carefully. From my perspective, I'm your best choice." He paused, "I'll give you time to consider it. I'm not in a hurry."
After he finished speaking, he helped Zhou Xiye unbuckle his seatbelt and opened the door.
Zhou Xiye paused for a moment, then smiled and said, "Thank you."
As soon as the door closed, before the car had even left, Zhou Xiye turned and walked home.
After entering the building and exiting the elevator, it was pitch black. Zhou Xiye stood in the darkness, looking at her front door. In an instant, a wave of exhaustion washed over her. All those worries were like black hands, gripping her heart and tearing a hole in it, from which black liquid flowed out like quicksand.
With a long sigh, Zhou Xiye picked up his bag to get his keys when a voice suddenly came from the side.
"Zhou Xiye, why are you so late?"
The lights came on, and Yi Chenling leaned against the wall behind her.
The two exchanged a glance. Yi Chenling forced a smile, his expression more like a grimace than a laugh. "Going to meet men? Which man is so promiscuous, bothering you until so late?"
Zhou Xiye pursed her lips; she simply couldn't imagine Pei Zhiyu acting like a flirt.
...
It does seem a little bit tempting?
Continue read on readnovelmtl.com
